Saturday, October 30, 2010

Letters to Mom and Dad

The first paragraph is from a letter to Jeff, Elder Harris’ Dad, in answer to some questions he asked about his schedule.

A typical day is like this: I wake up 6:00, shower, brush teeth, get dressed, and pray.Ii lead district meeting and try to start the day with the spirit.I then eat breakfast.I then go to class for about 4 hours.I then eat lunch, then I have personal companion and personal language study.I then have district role play and study that is for 4 hours.I then eat dinner, then I go back to class for about 3 more hours.I end the day with a district planning session.I pray again and then I go to bed and do the whole thing again. I love it, tell you more later.

This section is from a letter to Rosean, Elder Harris’ Mother, in answer to some of her questions.She mentioned to Jaren how his sister was asking someone to MORP (A girl asks boy event at school).

That is so cool for Haleigh and I am very excited for her. I think that Dylan is a super cool guy and I think that she is going to have a ton of fun.

As far as my itinerary, we leave at 5:00 in the morning the 3rd we then fly to Atlanta Georgia we land at about 1:00 we have a three hour layover and then we fly straight to Peru. We are expected to get there at about 10:55 in the evening. I am so excited to have the opportunity to go to Peru. I love the fact that I get to teach to a people that as Dad put it" are living where the book of Mormon is taking place".

On Tuesday of this week we got to hear from another member of the quorum of the twelve. Richard G. Scott came and talked to us about the sacred call of a missionary just like that conference talk that I love so much. It was by far the best talk that I have ever heard. The power of the spirit was so overwhelming that it brought me to tears like three times. The first time was when Elder Scott used his apostolic keys to give all the foreign speaking elders the gift of tongues. I laughed to myself cause I had been needed a spiritual push because learning Spanish is not very easy. I love that I have a lot of experience, but we never learned any spiritual words or how to speak to people in a the formal sense all the time. Some times I get really frustrated by it. I am comforted in the fact that I now have the gift of tongues.

I also had the opportunity to go to the temple today, and I cannot express the love in words that I feel in the temple. I came in with a question and I received an answer.It really gives me a strong desire to go and spread the truthfulness of this wonderful gospel to the entire world.

I am starting to realize that in order for me to become a extremely successful missionary I need to give more of myself. What is the point of being on a mission of all you are really here for is for your own personal growth. The most growth is had when you care more about others then you do yourself. I know that many times I have thought to myself that I can do that no problem, but I have found that I am an extremely selfish person. However there is a silver lining in every cloud, I have changed so much in the last 2 weeks that I think that if I came home now you wouldn’t think that I am the same person. I then start to look towards the future and I realized that the Lord is preparing me for something special. I can feel it in my soul. I really need to give everything that I have to this mission because I am being prepared for some greater cause. All I can do now is put my faith in the Lord and know that he will not give me a commandment that he doesn’t already know I can accomplish.

The MTC is such a fun place to be, I play basketball every day during our gym time and I am already half way through reading the Book of Mormon. I know, crazy right? I love the Book of Mormon so much, I missed one day this week reading it, and I felt like I had lost the most valuable part of day. To say the least I won’t make that mistake again. I find that when I read the words a great feeling of peace comes over me and I know in my heart that the things that I am reading are true. It really makes me what to continue to share the message of the restoration with the world. I want you guys to read 2 Nephi, chapter 11, as a family and really gain a deeper understanding of the power of the atonement and the love that Christ gives to us so freely. I love the power that that chapter evokes in me. It, along with other things, has greatly excited me, for my future in the gospel

I hope that everyone in the family is doing well and I hope that you get all the letters that I have been sending you. I plan on in my next letter that I will send tomorrow will have pictures in it and something else that is a surprise. I hope you like them. I got one for the whole family because they were so cheap.

I do miss you guys and I love you so much for all the letter and food. It brightens my day when I see that I have mail from a family that misses me as much as I miss them. Of course know without a shadow of a doubt that I am in the right place and that I know the Lord is protecting me and blessing me. I pray for you daily, at first in English but now in Spanish.

LOVE

Jaren

NOTE:We received a phone call from Jaren this morning which was a little shocking to us at first.The MTC told him to call us. He told us that his Visa had not come.He was called in yesterday.Somehow, somewhere the paperwork was lost.His wasn’t the only paperwork lost.There is a dozen or more missionaries also.So they are going to resubmit his paperwork for a visa.Jaren had an amazing humble attitude.During our five minute conversation with him he said, “It is okay, the Lord has a reason why I am to stay here for now.”He went on to say.He stays at the MTC in Provo waiting for his visa.If in the typical nine week training his visa does not come in, they will give him an extra two weeks.If by some strange reason it still doesn’t arrive they will assign him another mission to serve.Again he said, “It’s okay, if that happens, it just means the Lord knows of someone who I am supposed to teach somewhere else.” Anyone who is reading Jaren blog..Will you please take a moment to pray for him, for support.Pray for those who work in administration of American-Peru visas, ask for them to be able to straighten this mess out so these young elder will be rewarded for their faith.Thank you to all family and friends who have continued to write to him!!He especially needs to feel your love now.Thank you, Rosean